Loopy scripts from daffy minds

Road to the Emmys 2012: The Writer - Comedy

Louis C.K.“Louie” (FX)Episode: “Pregnant”Highlight: Having just given his elder daughter but not her sister a mango popsicle, Louie tries to explain to his younger daughter why life isn’t always fair, before succumbing to her insistent complaints and giving her a treat. Sidelight: A tense, nervy depiction of a worried Louie rushing his pregnant, screaming-in-pain sister to the hospital is revealed to be nothing more than a case of trapped gas.

Lena Dunham“Girls” (HBO)Episode: “Pilot”Highlight: Hannah (Dunham) learns that her parents aren’t going to bankroll her jobless existence in New York anymore. Among her defensive lobs, she says “I could be a drug addict, do you know how lucky you are?” Sidelight: The show earned some early controversy for the first episode’s notorious sex scene between Hannah and hook-up buddy Adam (Adam Driver), a moment strangely intimate, funny and disturbing as a portrait of casual coupling in the modern world.

Chris McKenna“Community” (NBC)Episode: “Remedial Chaos Theory”Highlight: Jeff (Joel McHale) says he can’t stay for long at Troy and Abed’s housewarming party due to a club opening he got invited to, at which point Abed reveals he himself sent Jeff the postcard touting a fake event to ensure the date would be free on his calendar. Sidelight: The clever episode hinges on multiple timelines revealing what would happen if each character left to answer the pizza deliveryman’s arrival.

Amy Poehler“Parks and Recreation” (NBC)Episode: “The Debate”Highlight: Leslie Knope (Poehler), ready to debate her opponents for city council, is seen getting pumped up listening to music through earbuds, after which she takes them out and says “Nothing gets me more amped than Sarah MacLachlan!” Sidelight: With their cable out and nobody able to watch the debate, Andy (Chris Pratt) begins a vigorous re-creation of the cheeseball Patrick Swayze action classic “Road House.”

Michael Schur“Parks and Recreation” (NBC)Episode: “Win, Lose Or Draw”Highlight: Dimwitted rich boy candidate Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd) throws back his voting booth curtain, ink all over his hands, to request help from Leslie on how to operate the voting machine (“I don’t GET IT!”). Sidelight: In an unexpected and heartwarming show of emotional generosity, stoic tough guy Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) separately finds himself bucking up the spirits of both Ben (Adam Scott) and Leslie.